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4K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  CityofBlindingLights 
#1 ·
Okay, I was considering ordering from Warmoth, and here's what I've been thinking

-Alder Strat Body
-Sonic Blue/Alpine White paint job (can't decide yet)
-Ibanez Breed Neck and Bridge pickups
-Tortoise Shell Pickguard
-Fender 6-Screw Vintage bridge/American Fender Bridge

-Warmoth Pro halfsawn Maple Neck
-Wizard Contour
-Vintage Gloss finish
-SS6105 Stainless Steel Frets
-10 1/2 fretboard radius
-Abalone Dots
-Corian/Graphteq Nut
-Gotoh Kluson Tuners

Any suggestions/changes? Also, if anyone here has ordered from warmoth, what do you think of them quality-wise and in general?
 
#2 ·
I have ordered a few necks from Warmoth and have been very happy with the quality.

I would suggest cruising the showcase for deals to save some money. Also, the wizard profile is an up charge and it too close to the standard thin to justify the extra cost (IMO).
 
#5 ·
Sonic blue with a plain white pickguard I think would look a bit nicer than the tortoise guard. I'd also go with the Wilky 2 point and probably Fralins as well, or the Carvin 3 AP-11/pearl guard combo (only 100 bucks pre-wired).
Sounds good though!
 
#6 ·
Okay, made some adjustments for cost reasons (oddly enough, despite what people are saying here), but here are the basics:

-Alder Strat Body
-Sonic Blue
-DiMarzio Breed Neck and Bridge pickups
-Mint Green Pickguard
-Fender 6-Screw Vintage bridge/American Fender Bridge

-Warmoth Pro halfsawn Maple Neck
-Vintage Gloss finish
-6105 Standard Frets
-10 1/2 fretboard radius
-Abalone Dots
-Corian/Graphteq Nut
-Gotoh Kluson Tuners

Okay, now a few more questions, I'm debating: Do I need a capacitator? I'm gonna have a 3-way switch, one volume knob, and one tone knob.
 
#7 ·
Like a Sprague orange cap? Couldn't hurt; they're cheap enough and easy to remove if you don't like them. You have lots of aftermarket tone control options as well. You're going with a maple fretboard, right? Warmoth's compound radius necks play very quickly if you haven't tried them.
 
#11 ·
I see that you decided on regular frets... I was going to tell you that the stainless frets might not be the best route. I know a couple of custom builders and they hate stainless frets. Getting a setup will cost much more down the road.

For a bit more Warmoth will sell you a quartersawn neck which will be more stable, especially if you plan on doing an oil finish on the neck. Either way it looks like a sweet deal.

I'm going to do something similar but with a Korina or Basswood body for a little more mellow sound and then I'm going to do a SD JB in the bridge with a Jazz in the neck spot. I'll most likely go fixed bridge because I can't stand tremolo's that aren't an original Floyd Rose. I may do a chambered body also.
 
#14 ·
I see that you decided on regular frets... I was going to tell you that the stainless frets might not be the best route. I know a couple of custom builders and they hate stainless frets. Getting a setup will cost much more down the road.

For a bit more Warmoth will sell you a quartersawn neck which will be more stable, especially if you plan on doing an oil finish on the neck. Either way it looks like a sweet deal.

I'm going to do something similar but with a Korina or Basswood body for a little more mellow sound and then I'm going to do a SD JB in the bridge with a Jazz in the neck spot. I'll most likely go fixed bridge because I can't stand tremolo's that aren't an original Floyd Rose. I may do a chambered body also.
Yeah, looked at the quartersawns and decided against it for pricing issues, if I'm going to upgrade from standard maple I'd consider going Birdseye (especially with the vintage tint).

Decided on standards over stainlesses because because I needed to lower the price a bit, it's a little out of my range as it is with those specs.
 
#18 ·
You can finish the neck with a can of tung oil and a rag ;) But a satin finish will protect the neck much better.
Check out all the available woods though, you don't have to go with maple just because it's popular. In fact, why not go with something really different? Not all woods even need a finish. Pau Ferro feels great and looks awesome (SN3306), swirled ebony on indian rosewood (SN3256)...I need to get off that site or I'll end up getting a neck myself :lol:
 
#19 ·
Don't forget, I'm trying to keep the price under $1,000, so I can't go NUTS with the neck, otherwise I'd be buying a jem AND a custom guitar.

I'll update the stats on what I'm thinking about soon.

As far as the finish goes, those guys are professionals, I don't wanna do a hack job myself. And as far as the neck is, I don't care if it's popular. It's *fairly* cheap compared to others and, with the wizard contour (I LOVE thin necks... hence I love the JEM prestige necks, along with my Strat's C neck and the Gretsch Duo-Jet neck, and the Gibson Explorer neck...) it'll be comfortable, and necks won't affect tone so much that it'll make a difference to me. So, as far as I go, it's cheap, it feels good, and it looks good. Otherwise, I probably would get Pau Ferro (I love Pau Ferro).

Budget is the key word here.
 
#20 ·
Okay, here's what I'm thinking right now:

-Alder Strat Body
-Sonic Blue
-DiMarzio Breed Neck and Bridge pickups (HH combo- double fat strat, may rout for a neck pickup too as I might add something later on)
-Mint Green Pickguard
-6-Screw vintage Fender bridge

-Warmoth Pro halfsawn Maple Neck
-Wizard Contour
-Vintage Gloss finish
-6105 Frets
-Compound fretboard radius
-Abalone Dots
-Corian Nut
-Gotoh Kluson

I'm also considering these too:

-Alpine White body with Tortoise Shell pickguard
-Floyd Rose tremolo unit (w/ Nut)
-Possibly a middle pickup, I want something that'll give me a classic strat tone similar to Clapton, I was thinking Hot Noiseless because I already have a set of those in my other strat and I LOVE the clean tones it produces, classic strat sound that can do crunch and hard overdriven tones.
 
#23 ·
Okay, new thought's, here's the updated list

-Basswood/Poplar/Alder Rear-Routed Strat Body
-Custom Camoflage finish (I'm doing it myself)
-Comfort Contours and Contour heel
-Dimarzio Breed neck, Fender Hot Noiseless/standard(economical) middle, and DiMarzio Breed neck
-Shaller Floyd Rose (chrome) bridge and nut

-Warmoth "Pro" maple neck
-Wizard Contour
-Satin Finish
-6105 Frets
-Compound Fretboard Radius
-Abalone Dot Inlay
-Gotoh Kluson Tuners

It's more for rock and shred (Vai and Van Halen style stuff) than it is for rhythm, that's what I got the strat for.
 
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